


The Traveler

by FaharaThevoo



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Skating, Dorks in Love, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-War, Rating May Change, Science Fiction, Skateboarding, Smut, Superpowers, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, War, Worldbuilding, abilities, hoverboards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2019-08-29 21:53:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16752145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaharaThevoo/pseuds/FaharaThevoo
Summary: Airen wakes up in a strange new world where he learns that he is a Traveler able to cover vast distances in the blink of an eye. Will he learn ever learn to control this ability or will he forever be doomed to wake up in new places?Writing Prompt: Every time you go to sleep you wake up in a new world, you’re trying desperately to stay awake.I put my own spin on the prompt. Also, I have no idea what tags to use for this so if I missed some just let me no down in the comments!





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> I cleaned up this chapter a bit so I hope it reads better!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He should really wear a helmet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found an editor for this chapter!

Standing at the edge of the halfpipe, my wheels are locked into the lip. I lean forward, trusting gravity to keep me balanced. I unconsciously rub my hand across one of the many bruises I’ve received from trying to learn this trick. 

_ “You’ve got this, you landed it twice before. Third time's the charm”. _

     I shift my weight and feel my board connect with the ramp. The wind whips through my mohawk as I enjoy the ride before focusing on the wooden slope coming up. My heart’s racing and blood pounds in my ears as I angle my body, adjusting my weight unconsciously as I go up the other side. Then I'm free floating, my heart beating so fast, it could have out fluttered a hummingbird. Quickly bending over to grab my board, I rotate 180. 

      I plummet back to the ramp, panicking, trying to make the last of the turn and line the board back up. The wheels connect to the wood and elegantly roll down.   _ Holy quasar! I landed it!!  _

     As I'm replaying it in my mind again, my weight suddenly shifts, the board flies out from under me, up the slope I wasn’t paying attention to, and arcs over landing in the grass. My helmetless skull slams into the bottom of the ramp, shattering my vision with fireworks and lightning. I lay there, with the air knocked out of me. My eyes are watery and wide as they look around me.

         The world is fractured between the sunny park and an ash-choked hillside. It’s as if I seeing a  mirage in the middle of the desert. Waves of heat wash over my body when the air shimmers inside the mirage. I can see volcanoes in the distance, and people walking around. 

      I blink slowly, my head throbbing, my body tingling with electricity. I force my eyes open.  _ When did they close? _ I don't know what's going on, and I realize I’m gasping for breath. The air is sulfuric in my lungs; my binder suddenly feels too tight. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to catch my breath and calm my panic. After a moment, it subsides. The drumming in my ears begins to fade. I hear a voice bounce around me.

 

“Hey!”

 

I blink, unable to focus. Everything is so muffled   
  
“Hey, dude. You, alright?”   
  
I slowly turn my head towards the sound, holding back the urge to lose the mango I had for breakfast as the world sways. Once it stops spinning I start noticing details. The sky is dim and hazy like Twilight or Dusk. There are houses lining the streets but they seem off somehow. As part of them are here but most of the house is somewhere else. I look closer and realize, the houses shimmer not the place itself.  _ That’s weird. _   
  
There’s a gentle shake on my shoulder as I try focus on the woman in front of me.   
  
“ Welcome back ” she chuckles, giving my body an assessment.    
“Did you fall off your board or something? ”   
I blink up at her.    
_ My board? Oh yeah, I was trying that trick and ….. I actually landed it again!  _

 

I struggle to remember as I sit up while looking around. There are a few people walking around with large horns on their heads varying from figure to figure. Some have tails and the ones that don’t have shimmering shapes of them. The chick sitting next to me has horns too. They sprout from her forehead and curve around so they look like a crown. Her purple hair is held back in a ponytail. Her skin is marron and has small scales along her shoulders and arms. Her eyes are the same as her hair but more vibrant. I can see stars in them and the more I look, the deeper I go and the more appear. My body stops hurting, the headache fades, and I can actually focus.  _ Wait a minute, I’m staring. Holy shit, I’ve but staring at this pretty lady longer than a socially acceptable amount of time, look away, look away man! _   
  
“Hellooo” she waves her hand in front of my face. “Dude you hit your head hard, that’s why you should wear a helmet” she snickers.   
  
I cough clearing my throat and look around an notice her board floating a foot off the ground and she doesn’t have a helmet either.   
  
“Pfft, what?!” I chuckle “Where’s your helmet??”   
  
She smirks,  standing up and holds out her hand out to me. I take it, and as I stand I notice that we’re the same height. All though her horns gave her an extra couple of inches, making my 5’8 frame seem short.   
  
“Hi, I’m Nadia!” She smiles at me, revealing shark like teeth as she let go of my hand. 

_ Ooookay, why are her teeth so sharp? _   
“ I’m Airen, nice to meet you”, i say while taking in my surroundings. “Where am I?”    
“Nujema”, she says. 

Her smile fades, and she steps back from me, eyes sweep over me. I cross my arms hoping she doesn’t see the lumps through my binder. I realize its loose and baggy, causing the fabric to bunch up under my arms and I look down. I feel the same and look the same but… _. Holy snaps. I HAVE PECS! Wait a minute….. _

“Did you say Nujema?! What's that? Where is this?!”   
  
"Dude! Hey, relax! It’s a city, you know like a suburb. Just stay calm. Where are you from?”   
  
“Earth!” As I speak, a volcano erupts in the distance,  sending the smell of brimstone and a fresh wave of heat through washes over us.  _ Fuck me that's hot!  _   
  
Her eyes grow to the size of saucers and she clamps a warm hand over my mouth. Nadia’s eyes quickly scan the area to see if anyone heard. She grabs her board and starts pulling me along at a jog, leaving me no choice but to follow. 


	2. Arrow of God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Airen gets a history lesson and learns a little bit more about himself and this new world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting super into this world and have so many things planned I just have to figure out how to piece them together in a way that flows! I hope you guys are in for a long ride. There will be victories and defeats, humor and angst, love and betrayal, so buckle up!

Once we get close to my board she lets go of me and hops on hers hovering ahead of me. "Can you ride?" She asks pointing at my head then my board.

"Yeah!" I reply as I caveman my board and catch up to her. Although, mine doesn't float around like yours" I say as I feel my muscle clench and relax with the repeated kick push movement. Luckily we are going down at a slight angle at the moment but as I look passed Nadia I can see a large hill coming up.

Nadia checks her watch and then looks up at the sky" If you can keep up I have some boards at home you can borrow." She says with a smirk and lowers her board to hover two inches off the ground. She starts to kick push as well.

The angle of the hill increases and we pick up speed. I move from the sidewalk to the street after checking for cars. It's not like there aren't any around because they are, they're just not on the roads. The few I see driving or hovering around are quickly pulling into driveways to park or start to shimmer like the houses. The road is so smooth and I serpentine down the hill, my arms out to my side letting the wind wip around my body and for a moment I forget where I am. I feel the boom in my chest just as the ground trembles and I look in the direction of the sound. The side of the volcano exploded sending ash and rock everywhere. The waves of heat flowing down into the city burn my skin but the other people out an about don't even bat an eye. Nadie beat me to the bottom of the hill an turned right; I kick even faster to catch back up but she's too far ahead and I'm not trying to make that turn at this speed so I quickly look around. If I cut through the kiddy park I could catch her. I shift my weight steering the board over to the park, I can just make out Nadia on the other side but I'm running out of parking lot. I mentally start to form a plan,

_I can ollie up onto the half wall....but It's a little higher up than I can normally ollie and wiping out is not an option._

_Hmm... There are concrete park benches lined up in a row and the last two run parallel to the wall. If I bunny hops from bench to bench I can skip the grass an go from the bench to the wall in half the height! The circular wall should take me all the way around to the other side._

I bend at the knees, suck in a breath before pushing my left leg down while lifting my left. I flick my left foot causing the board to rotate, successfully landing a kickflip over the grass and on to the bench.

_Ok, That was easy enough._

I follow up with two frontside pop shove-it but my landing one the last one was a bit sketchy so I settle for a regular ollie from the bench onto the wall. There is not much room to kick push up here but I manage to catch back up to her. Nadia looks up at me and smiles.

"Cleaver but how are you going to get down?" She cocks her head in the general direction in front of us. The sidewalk pitched downward while the wall stayed level causing me to be five feet above her and climbing.

"Frick, which way are we going?" I say trying to remain composed.

 _Please say straight, please say straight_ , I repeat in my head. Not wanting to rail grind down the steps coming at this angle.

"Left, for a couple more blocks" she shouts up at me in between her kick push.

 _Fuck._ "Awesome, just making sure! Watch this!" I boosted confidently, sweat trickling down my spine. My mind is racing trying to find a way to slow myself down enough to not die.

 _Annnd, I got nada..._ I'm drawing a blank, _I'm going to die._ _Think man, Think!_ _I can't serpentine, not enough space. If I drop the tail of my board down so it drags it might work but if I do it too hard it might throw off my balance and I will fall off the wall and die. How did you stop when you were first learning to bomb hills on your longboard. Oh yeah!!_

Lowering my center of gravity, I shift my left foot to the middle of the board giving me enough room for my right foot to drag the sole of my shoe behind me slowing me down. I rearrange my feet back to my usual stance just in time to hold the front wheels off the ground allowing the board to ride smoothly off.

I hold my breath as my stomach flips in free fall. As the rail rapidly approaches I rotate my lower half 180 in an attempt to expel some more momentum. I feel the board connect with the rail and I quickly shift my weight in time with the board so the board is pushed out behind me and I can lean forward a bit to balance out. I pick up speed sliding down the ten foot long smooth surface and shooting off the end of the rail. Flying past Nadia and across the street, barely able to rotate the 180 degrees back to my original stance before my wheels connect with the ground. As the road levels out and I resume a smooth kick push I can relax and cheer!

"Heck yeah, nailed it! Did you catch that first try!" I shout into the simmering night air as Nadia hovers up next to me, her ponytail flowing effortlessly behind her. Due to her board being able to hover her riding style is more common to that of a snowboarder. Allowing her to ride sideways, High-fiving me with ease while hovering smooth circles around me.

"Nice, dude! You are pretty dauntless, we can use more of that." She says in a matter of fact way. It's dark enough now for the street lights to kick on but not completely dark and the light reflects off her hair. It looks so smooth, I bet it's really silky too. Wait! My eyes narrow in on her lips as she's talking.

 _Is she wearing black lipstick or something? When did she put that on?_ I mentally replay our encounter in my head an I'm pretty sure I would have noticed that earlier. There's just something about black stained lips that get my heartbeat racing and hers look exceptionally bite-able in this light. Fuck, she's actually talking to me, focus, man, focus. I focus back on the actual conversation at hand.

"We? Who's we?" I ask as we approach a large hill. I'm starting to slow due to the incline but Nadia holds out her hand. I take it and her board is effortlessly able to pull me up the hill, interesting. It's sweltering but I still try to sheer force of will my palms not to be drench in sweat. That would be so embarrassing, nobody likes clammy hands.

She smiles gripping my hand a little tighter. "I'll tell you when we get to my house. It's not really safe out in the open like this?"

Out in the open? I question inside my head looking around. I wouldn't consider this suburban neighborhood really open. No ones outside anymore though which is kind of eerie but ay, it's getting dark so that's probably normal. Then a deep noise that sounds like a foghorn from hell roar's in my ears.

"Curfew!" Nadia yells back at me as her board increases speed fast enough I have to focus on not catching speed wobbles or clipping a rock.

The noise seems to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. It goes on for three minutes in 30-second intervals before fading away just like that although I can still hear it bouncing around in my head. We reach the top of the hill and there sits a... shipping container? No, If I look closely enough I can see that it shimmers too but its really faint. Also, roughly the space of 2 containers high and four containers wide fades in add out of my vision. It's not like the other house that shimmers brightly. This one probably due to the surrounding foliage and trees appears to not be here at all. Nadia hops off her bored and I do the same as we continue walking into the woods. We continue behind a cluster of trees an then she stops and turns to me smiling.

"What?" I say quietly as not to disturb the forest around us. Getting a little self-conscious with her looking at me, I quickly wipe the sweat off of my forehead with the neck of my shirt, breaking eye contact. _Sweet Neptune, I really want to shower._ It's way too hot here and my binder is sticking to me uncomfortably.

Nadia says "Turn around" as she chuckles. I think _Um..ok, weird_ as I hesitantly turn around. The only thing behind me is more trees and a weird looking three eyed bunny scurrying around. _Aw, its kind of cute and looks pretty normal form behind_. In a blink, seemingly out of nowhere a dark green fox-like creature springs forward and pounces on the rabbit. It's two tails swaying wildly as it tries to land the finishing bite, the rabbit lands a couple powerful kicks to its face an manages to get free before hoping off in the opposite direction an up a 15-foot tree. "Uh..." I manage to say as I try to wrap my head around what just happened.

"Ok, come on" Nadia spins me back around and practically pushes me forward. I blink and I have to blink a few more times to truly believe what I'm seeing. Before me is space about four forty-foot shipping containers wide. Two bedrooms with an ensuite. A large living room, dining room, and full kitchen finished out with twenty-nine feet of floor to ceiling glass at the back of the house. Through the windows, I can see a clearing before a fence then nothing but open air and an unbelievably beautiful view. I can see the city from here, skyscrapers with twinkling lights and cars traveling in and around it. The moon is starting to peek through the clouds but it looks funny but I can't see why before it disappears behind the clouds again. The four shipping containers are stitched together to create a really cool modern sci-fi living space that feels like it came out of a movie. The second floor looked to be a loft or some sort of open living space but I can't see what's up there from here, but that whole section looks like it was added on at a later date.

"Wow, I have so many questions!" I say as I continue to take in my surroundings, turning in a slow circle. I complete my rotation in time to catch Nadia walking away from me towards the kitchen while in the process of taking off her shirt. I was pretty sure my already parched mouth couldn't get any drier but the slow reveal of her tattoos starting at her lower back and traveling up her back, snaking under her sports bra, and curving around her shoulders, turned it to sandpaper. They are black and have a slight iridescent twinkle. The style appears to be tribal in nature but they match the contours an shape of her body so they very well could just be her markings since I have no idea what she is. As she throws her shirt back in the living room somewhere I can see her muscle flexing under her marron skin that's now deep mahogany in the low light. She has just enough muscle to tell she's really active or works out often fit. _Oh no, she's hot!!_ She pulls her long violet hair out of the ponytail allowing it to cascade down to the middle of her back in silky waves and I'm feeling faint. I'm pretty sure just from the heat though.

"Thirsty?" She asked once she reached the refrigerator. I couldn't tell if she was being funny or a good host but I'm pretty sure it's a combination of both due to the smirk on her face.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, everything here is freakin' hot!" I state as I fold my arms across my chest, somewhat startled again about my new flat chest. As I think about my chest I willing my eyes to stay above her neck. Don't be creepy, don't be creepy, I practically chant in my head. You grew up with nudity being whatever she's not even naked get a grip!

"Well I don't have much, the good stuff is getting harder an harder to find due to the cutbacks and restrictions. Just a few cans of Velour and some bottled water" She says hold one of each in each hand.

"I'm not sure what Velour is so I'll take the water." I manage to choke out of my dry mouth. She tosses it across the room for me to catch. Once I do I take a long swig it's so refreshing that I follow it with another.

"Ok so let's start at the top. Why it is so bad that I'm from Earth?" I say easing down onto the living room floor. Not wanting to sit on the furniture in my sweaty state.

"Long story short, I believe you are a Traveler. Someone who is able to travel between worlds. There used to be so many of you before the war, coming and going as you pleased. Learning and sharing what you have discovered throughout your travels with any an everyone who would listen. Now the government has been hunting them down forcing them to work for them by kidnapping family members. If the Traveler doesn't work or follow orders they are killed unceremoniously and dumped. Most left and avoid us which is understandable but some stayed to protect their friends and families.”

“I'm not a Traveler though, I can't be, I've never Traveled anywhere before!” I say quietly as I take in the information.

“Hmm” she begins to ponder. “My Dad was a Traveler he described it as colorful threads connecting everything to everything else. He could grab them a be pulled to the other end or pull something to him. Can you or have you ever seen something like that?

I take a slow look around and a really try to focus but I got nothing. “Nope, Did he say what the shimmering is?” I ask still looking around for anything thing out of the usual.

“Shimmering, what do you mean. What do you see?” She says cocking her head to the side.

“On the way here the houses appear to be giving off a luminous, rainbow sheen that changes color in the light. Some of the cars would drive into it and disappear.”

“Oh! We have the ability to create small dimensional rifts in space. It allows us to save housing space leading to a smaller Eco Footprint. This is the Incorporation’s main goal. Maybe you can actually see the rift itself.” She says really excitedly while swiping her hair over her shoulder to drape down her front. My eyes follow the motion allowing me to get a subtle gimps of her chest. Her boobs are on the smaller size about B-cups maybe which is A1. I'm not really a big boob guy. Her scales travel along her collarbone before plunging down the center of her chest into her bra. They don't reappear out of the bottom though, instead, the black markings wrap around from her back to her front and follow along with her... _Blessed Athena, she has a V-cut...Eyes Up!_ I return my attention back to what we are talking about and that smug smile is back on her face.

I take another sip of water. “I guess that makes sense but your place is different. It looked solid instead of airy and had angular shapes like painted glass. I almost missed it, to be honest.”

“Oh, I have camouflage upon this place so no one can see it. To everyone else, it just looks like the edge of the restored woods. People don't wander into the woods all willy-nilly. To dangerous due to the mutated animals." She states matter of factly. "Just for illegal hunting parties when resources get to low.”

“I saw some of the animals while you opening the door. What happened to them?” I stretch out on the floor, relaxing my muscles after that small workout.

“A few generations ago someone purchased the moon. At first, they just allowed companies to put advertisements on it like a large billboard.”

“That's Disgusting, you can't just buy the moon. It's not something to be bought!” I state angrily.

“I know and the popular vote agreed but it didn't matter.” She sighed.

“Soon there were personal businesses up there, one was a research lab believed to be trying to create a way to teleport matter like the Travelers. To us down here on the planet, Tamahiri, it was just a rumor. We were more worried about the military testing weapons up there. Now that it was considered private property they could sidestep some laws and store weapons up there as well” She laid down on the couch behind me an looked out of the floor to ceiling windows.

She continues while folding her arms behind her head. “That made a lot of other countries uncomfortable so they beefed up their militaries. Soon everyone was trying to have the bigger stick. Tensions were at an all-time high, then the Arrowgate’s lab blew up. Some say sabotage, others a test that went wrong, but what we do now is that it was the stone that finally sunk the ship. They blamed us, Dewforest, and dropped The Arrow of God. A sleek Tungsten rocket that resembled an Arrow dropped from the moon."

Nadia starts playing with the tips of her hair. "According to old documents dug up by historians years later. The impact caused the whole planet to tremble. Quakes were felt all over the world and Dewforest was all but wiped out completely. Roughly 8 million lives lost, there was no warning, no demands, nothing my country could have done to prepare. Our allies learned of what happened and were quick to retaliate firing long-range Ion missiles and I'm sure you can guess what happened after that. After everything settled down and we were able to rebuild, Dewforest looked much like what you see now. Volcanoes, rivers of lava, plumes of ash, bleak, barren, etc." She clears her throat and tries to sound more cheerful.

"Back when my granddad was in college the Incorporation formed and started the Gia Project in hopes to restore the planet. Thanks to that we have pockets of green consisting of forests and farmlands but it's nowhere near enough. To try and make do the Incorporation created laws that deemed anything wasteful to be illegal and punishable by death in most cases. Curfews were set, running water is only allowed at certain times throughout the day, same with power. Although, some can get around the power issues using solar power or other means of simply made generators. Others are solely reliant on the Incorporation, or Incor for short, for their resources" As Nadia finishes talking she sits back up swinging her leg back down, her feet rest on the floor next to me.

She's wearing black a white checkered hightops with purple laces and, I'm not sure why I notice. She tilts her head down to look at me, probably expecting me to say something but I have no words. What do you say? What can you say when you learn a planet almost bombed its self out of existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it and I will see you guys in the next chapter!!


	3. The Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A boy explores a cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This one is a bit short due to splitting the time I have between pulling this plot out of the void, building the world, creating art of the characters, and environments, and tieing it all together lol That being said, I hope you have enjoyed it so far and be on the lookout for art :) Also, looking for a beta.

\--Elsewhere in the world--

A boy wonders down a seemly endless pathway. Towards the end, statues of Caphiarux, a Being Of Order and Balance lay crumbled on the ground lining the path. The boy frowns slightly as he sips on his juice box but continues onward. He now stands before two grand staircases carved out of stone. They mirror each other before coming to a stop at a high platform. His chocolate skin tone is barely noticeable in the dim light filtering into the cave. The disturbed air swirls around his pristine white t-shirt, with the words "We come in peace!" printed across the front. His black joggers match his boots and seem so out of place in this world. He walks through the puddles littered around the cave floor upon approaching the cracked stairs that lead up to the entrance of a long forgotten temple. As he climbs higher, each footstep echoes off the cave walls. Water from the surrounding ocean above seeps through the cave ceiling 40 meters up. He walks with an air of familiarity as he passes through the towering entrance, it's been a while since the last time he was here but it was one of his favorite places to visit. There are numerous reliefs on the walls depicting Caphiarux drifting among the cosmos, watching everything and keeping the balance. Another relief depicts the one random moment in time when Caphiarux becomes bored with his duties and creates the planet from remains of one that ended its life cycle on the other side of the universe. The next relief shows how he then wiped the sweat off his brow and the moisture fell to the new planet. It to pool together to form the oceans, lakes, and rivers. The one after that had a large crack spider webbing its way cross. He remembers from the last time he was here that it shows Caphiarux then creating the planets, animals, and the Tu'Vani. A relief on the opposite side shows Caphiarux teaching the Tu'Vani how to co-exist with the planets, animals, and the planet as a whole. He even taught them how to speak with the animals so that they could work together to keep the planet healthy. The boy reaches the end of the long entryway. The last Relief is that of Caphiarux, leaving to resume his Watcher duties once he was satisfied that they could thrive on their own as one. Over time he watched the Tu'Vani forget, they lost their ability to commune with the animals. They consumed more than they replaced. They started to hunt for sport. Some of his precious animals were bred just to be eaten. Before long the Tu'Vani began to turn on each other, they separated themselves, built walls to keep others out, and turned the resources of the planet into weapons. He returned and took a few of each species of plants and animals then created the moon. He declared it a promise to those he had to leave behind for the sake of balance, that one day a Traveler will come and restore what will and has been lost. He left after that or so the legend goes. As he walks pass crumbling corridors, fallen statues, and chambers left in ruins he is saddened to see the temple in this state of disrepair. He aches for the Tu'Vani who no longer remember the Haji Way. Anger burns through his veins at the fact that Caphiarux has been reduced to nothing more than myths and legends. He crushes the juice box in his hand sending juice splashing down on the once smooth carved flooring. With his free hand, he runs his fingers through his twists to massage his scalp. His torso barely moves as he takes a deep breath and remembers why he's here. He retraces familiar steps till he reaches his destination. It's a circular chamber with five throne-like seats against the far wall. Four of them are sized for the Tu'Vani and the one in the middle is five times their size. Over each throne is a unique symbol. All five are equally placed ten feet from each other and sat atop a raised platform overlooking the rest of the chamber. He made his way up the small steps to stand in front of the large throne. It has been several eons since anyone has sat in that seat but the boy climb his way up an sits in the middle on the edge. His feet swing under him as he pulls a retro gaming system out of his pocket and begins to play while sipping on a new juice box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading up to this point! If you want to make an appearance in this world check out my tiers for more info: https://www.patreon.com/FaharaThevoo


	4. Nadia's Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Im bad at summarizing but here we go.....A small chat and a quick fix. 
> 
> Check out #thetravelernovel on Insta for art of this universe and it's inhabitants!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still in need of a editor and someone to be a sound board I can bounce idea's off of for future chapters, if interested leave me a comment below.

“Wow, that's quite the history lesson. Earth is pretty much following the same path unfortunately.” I sigh while rubbing my eyes. Exhaustion is starting to creep up on me. I would love to take a nap but I'm not home. This isn't my house, heck this isn't even my world. Would I teleport somewhere else if I go to sleep or is it if I'm knocked unconscious again? I really rather not find out.  
“I'm sorry what was your name again, I'm terrible with names” I ask.  
“You did hit your head pretty hard too, so no sweat. I'm Nadia, Nadia Zaldivar” She said with a small smile.  
“This is technically my Dad's man cave so to speak but once I was old enough to move out of the house I moved in here.”  
“Sweet! it looks pretty snazzy, much better than my broom closet of an apartment”  
“Yea, I spent a lot of time here growing up. Dad worked as a programmer for an IT company, he taught me the ropes. When he found out his fellow Travelers were being abducted by Incor he joined The Betrayed. He then turned to hacking and information gathering. That's when he added the second level up there.” She said point to the second floor.  
“He quit his job to dedicate more time to the cause. Mom understood and is able to support us with her job alone. Dad, being a Traveler, would leave home to travel to different Betrayed Headquarters an help plan ways to get the other Travelers back. They always resulted in failure an soon no one jumped at the chance to fight back anymore. Now we gather as much information as we can to plan for an attack I'm not sure we'll even have the manpower to carry out” she says somberly.  
Puzzled I ask “Why is Incor hunting down Travellers? What are they being used for?”  
“Nobody knows, Incor is like a void. Nothing gets in or out without their permission. Travelers can't teleport in or out. We can't get past their firewalls and too many attempts attract attention. We supposedly have spies on the inside working for them but dad wouldn't tell me who. Stating plausible deniability incase I ever get captured”  
“Makes sense, where's your dad now?”  
“He said he was on to something and had to go check it out. I wanted to go with him like I normally do as backup but he told me to stay and watch the shop. Which was weird because he never called this place The Shop before. After he left I logged on to the computer upstairs an ran through my usual routine of checking the message boards, backdoors, creating new ones, and trying to find ways into Incor without drawing attention. It wasn't till that afternoon I noticed a folder on the desktop called The Shop. It was empty but now I knew what he ment”  
"Woah, I wonder what he found?" I say out loud.

"I'm not sure but the few days leading up to him leaving, he started to get more and more anxious. He beefed up our security, started condensing our files, creating backups, deleting others. One night he fell asleep at his computer. Before I woke him, I noticed he sent a coded message to someone called Phoenix. I couldn't translate what it said though so it must be going to someone really high up on the food chain" She added with a worried look.

The sound of sparks and the flicker of the lights before they dimmed even lower interrupted whatever Nadia was about to say. 

"Damnit" Nada shouts as she hops over the back of the couch. Covering the distance from the couch to the set of stairs by the front door and up to the second floor in an impressive display of grace.

I hear her rummaging through boxes and bins. I get up off the floor and notice I did so with relative ease. I stop and look down at myself for the second time. I almost have to sit back down on the couch as I realize the ever persistent pain that I normally feel due to an injury I received back in high school is gone. The whole moment probably only lasts a few seconds before my train of thought is interrupted.

"No. No. No!" Nadia says repeatedly "Come on don't die on me now!"

I take the steps two at a time until I reach the top. The room has a teal glow cast by the long cylindrical lights that hang from the ceiling. They remind me of the long fluorescent lights you see in schools back on earth. Off to the right of the doorway is what looks to be a server tower that almost reaches the ceiling and next to that is a stone bust of a man with a thin nose and thick beard. Up against the right wall in the center is a sleek office desk devoid of clutter thanks to the plastic shelves stacked four high on each corner. They seem to frame the white chair placed behind the desk. 

To the right of the desk is a small red circular trash can at the foot of a bunk bed. The bottom bunk has been made up with pillows and a thick blue blanket resting at the foot. The top bunk bed is serving as collect all for spare parts. The metal surfaces reflecting the teal light back at me. The wall opposite the door has a large six-foot screen that currently displayed a map of GP with digital sticky notes in random points around it. The screen is connected to metal arms allowing to be adjusted as needed. Below the screen is another desk. There are books nettled between to computers. Now, I may not know much about anything in this world but the whole setup for both of the computers looked like they would be able to give the Pentagon's Security a run for its money. Each one had a hard connection to servers similar to the one by the door. Tubes full of a neon green liquid run to a from the computer towers and the server. The monitors were different brands but roughly the same size. The one of the left was powered off but the one on the right was on a showed a desktop with icons on the right and left side of the screen. The background image was of a pretty rolling hillside with a small shack off to the far right.

On the wall to the left of the door looked to be power cells of various shapes and sizes. Some were standing towers other small containers laid on their side. They all had different types of power level indicators. Some were full, others empty or broken. All were connected with a patchwork of wires, cable, and I'm pretty sure this world's equivalent to duct tape. Nadia is holding a thick cable in her mouth while she rests on her knees in front of the sparking power cell. She tries reaching through a gap between two cells in an attempt to power down the exact one having issues but the sparks arch in her direction if she starts getting to close. The whole room tingles as if my hair should be standing on end even though it's not.

"Damn, I can't isolate the cell so I'm going to have to cut the main power but in doing so the every in the house will power down. The only thing that will remain running is the camo generator for the house and the computer but only for a limited time. She quickly gets up and hits a button on the wall. A cable thick as my arm drops down from the ceiling and she connects it to what looks like a moving platform with a wide conveyor belt. The platform is about three feet wide and nestled into the floor. The belt is faded and worn showing it has seen a lot of use in the past.

"You're good at running right?" She asks while connecting even more cords to the platform.

"Yea, more or less. I'm not fast anymore due to an old sports injury but I can go three miles at a decent pace" I say confidently stepping up on to the belt.

"Great, it shouldn't take me that long to fix but just in case it's nice to have this ready as back up. The camo generator was originally made for covering small things like a bike if you didn't have a chain or for a car at max. Dad and I found it on a supply run with The Betrayed. This was before Dad starting digging deep into the digital realm and this place was no more than just a hangout spot. We didn't really need camo but we thought it would be found to try and refurbish it together for what is now the base. That being said has about two hours of juice due it being forced to cover some of this size." Nadia says speaking proudly!

"We don't have stuff like this in my world, at least not available to the public, this is so cool. My dad and I will fix up cars together from time to time but for the most part, we just Flip Houses." I say smoothly. While in my head I'm absolutely giddy. 

“Why do you guys flip houses? Do they need to be flipped? How do you manage to flip them without it falling apart?” Nadia ask without looking away from what she is doing. Which is standing at the desk in front of the large digital screen typing away inputs on the holo-keyboard. I can't really follow but it looks like shuffling things around. Some buttons light up teal others turn a burnt orange color but one by one each section of the house powers down. The last thing to was the air conditioning, now the two of us stand in the dark. With everything powered down, I can almost feel the presence of the field around the house. Like it's squeezing down on me with the softest pressure. I open my eye's but there is nothing but darkness swimming around me. My mind goes back to the weird alien bunny, then the three tailed fox but more importantly how it sprung out of nowhere. I try to control my breathing as my mind begins to race. What all can even exist on this planet! Do they have things that go thump in the dark? Everything seems so similar to my world visually, especially indoors, the fact that this isn't my world is a smack to the face every time I remember. I don't know anything about this place, this world, or the food chain and where I am in it.**

"You ok? You're not afraid of the dark are you?" I can practically hear her smirk from across the room. It sounds like she's digging around in a plastic tub. 

I clear my throat as quietly as I can before I speak "Pfft, no! I totally know what goes bumping around in Your darkness. Besides, I know where you are in the room so I'm im focusing on that"

"Oh, is that soo?" I hear the box being sat down on the floor by the cluster of power cells.

"Yea, you are over where the power cells are" I state matter a factly. 

A small circle of light from a flashlight appears over to the spot I mention and a gentle “Nope” tinkles past my right ear before Nadia steps around me. She points the light at herself from below and says “Boo!”

The light bouncing off her illuminates my face which i'm sure looks like im completely shook causing Nadia to laugh while springing back over to the wall. I stand there mentally wrapping my mind around the image of deep red skin, sharp pointy teeth, horns, all while casting harsh shadows across her face. She looked like a demon from hell ready to drag me down to hell for wearing mixed fabrics or something. By the time I get a grip her laughter died down to a snicker and she's fiddling with the power cell in her lap with the small flashlight held in her teeth. 

“Damn, the interior coil is shot. I'll have to go get another one and you're going to have to start stretching” she says after a while.

“yea, sure thing” I say as I bend over and touch my toes. Woah! My back doesn't hurt! 

I spread my legs shoulder width apart and lower myself into a squat. My hips still pop an my knees crack but they don't hurt. While I'm stretching in the dark, I hear Nadia head back downstairs an a door open then close. When she comes back up she's wearing black leggings and dark gray tank up. She pools slim little box out of her pocket and places it on the floor. Tapes out a code on the surface and a teal light emits filling the room with an eerie glow. The air around the source of the light starts to crack. The fractures spiral outward and up into the air. They shift and appear to fold into each other and then fracture again, in a repeating way.

“Woah” I say staring into the light. I start to reach for the ever shifting panes, expecting them to feel smooth as glass to the touch.

Then there's a sharp pain on my wrist. “Don’t” Nadia says as she slapped my hand away. “This is a restored storage drive. None of the safety measures are functional anymore”

“Ok, what happens if someone touches it without the safety measures activated? I ask while rubbing my wrist. There's a series of beeps before the servers come back on and the computer boots back up running off the generator.

“I haven't seen it in person but I heard it's the most painful thing something can go through.” Nadia starts while rushing around the room grabbing supplies an throwing them into the light. 

I stare in awe as the objects disappear as they enter the light. Nadia continues on “People who have survived losing limbs said they could feel their limb compressing not only has a whole but cell by cell. Like it was being folded in on itself repeatedly till they were pulled away.”

I cringed “Good looking out. That's definitely not something I want to experience”

“No problem, but I got to go and you have to start running. Power’s already down to 50% percent from earlier!” Nadia says while jogging over to the computer. 

“If the overall power level drops below 25% the computer will shut off to save power for the camo generator.” She types in some commands and three screens appear. One shows the current power percentage and that of what the manual generator produces. It's shows the generator at zero but when I start to jog it shows three percent output.

“you have to stay above ten percent to cancel out the drainage caused by the Camo Shield. Anything higher than that well raise the power level back up which could give you breathing room if you need it” she says pointing at the first window. 

The second window shows and 2D map of the city. “I’ll wear a tracker so you can have some sort of indication of how the mission is going and how much is left. I'm going to the edge of the city, through the wall, and into the ‘Barran Brothers Scrap Yard’ on the other side.” she pointed out tracing the route with her finger.

She went on “it's not the best place to find power cells but it's the easiest option.” double tapping on the third window, a open folder enlarged to the top right corner. 

“This is the shop, watch this folder while I'm out and alert me if anything changes” She says as she starts fishing around in a bot beside the desk.

“How? Do you have walkie talkies or something” I ask. I check the first window and noticed I dropped down from ten to three percent and as a result the current power level was now 41% instead of 45% when I last checked.

Nadia pulled out another wristband and fitted it to my left wrist. “ I don't know what a whaaky thaky is but this will allow you to tap the screen, causing It to vibrate on my end, letting me know something is up. It use to have other features but they are disabled so Incor can't track them.”

She jogs over to the door then stops and looks back at me says “Everforward!” then turns to leave. 

“Good Luck” I shout at her back as I hear her footsteps fade into the darkness.

 

With Nadia gone I focus on my jogging, the way my muscles flex and stretch, the way my chest expands as I fill my lungs. My eyes flinch over to The Shop and it's still empty. Checking the power level, I jog slightly faster so that the treadmills output is at seven. It's been about 10 minutes and Nadia's blinking green dot is about three blocks away. In two more she will take a right and travel straight for a bit. Ok, you can do this. Easy does it. Focus on your breathing, in through your nose and out throughout your mouth.. I pick up speed again reaching the 10% output level.

Nadia dot had just turned the corner but has now stopped moving. It's blinking is less frequent and I hope it's not her tracker dieing. A couple mins passed and the dot starts moving again. It's pace is slower, the map isn't detailed enough to show me a light blue version of the street but just a thin white line between dark blue rectangles. We're reaching the 30 minute mark and the dot just reached the wall and stopped again. The Shop is still empty and the power level is at 49%. Huh, must have put in a little extra. Doing good so far. It's warm. Don't think about it. When did it get this warm. You're thinking about it! 

Sweat trickles down my back and my legs are starting to burn. It's not bad though, I know I can keep going another 30 minutes before I have to start pushing myself. Pick up the pace just a tiny bit more. It'll help you for the back end of the race. I know I know, on the count of three. One... My body tenses. Two, relax and open your stride. 3… I do open my stride and I can feel the shift in my quads. The extra effort needed for my hamstrings to pull the belt along is also felt but i try not to think about it. Nadia's dot disappeared for a few minutes which helped keep me distracted while I tried not to panic. Not going to lie, I let out a sigh of relief when it popped back up on the other side and reached its destination at the 50 minute mark. 

We're halfway there. She just has to find what she's looking for and make it back home..no here. Make it back here safely.

My legs are starting to really burn now and this heat is stifling. The shop is empty but the power level is at 40%. Damn. I slowed down too much. Come on you gotta make it back up. I remember earlier that the air conditioning was the last thing to power down and ever since I feel like the heat intensified but I get back up to speed so the output of the treadmill is at 13%

You can run without your shirt. It's sticking to you and getting in the way. Beside its dark and their is no one here to see your binder. 

I pull my eyes away from the windows on the screen and get a quick look around. There's nothing but inky blackness past the dim light of computer screens so I grab at the bottom of the shirt and pull it up over my head. The motion throws off my rhythm and my focus. I start to pant and my speed drops significantly. 

Control your breathing. In through your nose and out through your mouth. You built up some cushion just for this. You can slow down but not this much. Nadia is out there doing her part, you will do yours. 

I look back at the screen an Nadia dot is back on the other side of the wall. 40 minutes is all I have left, I just have to push through this suffocating heat. Sweat runs down my face and threatens to get in my eyes. I wipe my brow and run my fingers through my hair. The movement causes my binder to drag across my skin and that's when I remember its fits baggy because I don't have boobs anymore! I don't have to wear this anymore more! I can take it off!

With the energy boost given by my realization I'm able to remove my binder and get back to the required ten percent. During my moment of weakness after removing my shirt the power level dropped down to 35. Nadia is half way back, all you have to do is keep it here. You're on the home stretch! 

I can feel the beads of sweat running down my chest which is a contrast to the numb jelly feeling in my legs so I focus on that instead. My eyes glued to the screen bouncing from one window to the next. It's been two hours now but I try not to think about that. Especially since my vision is starting to blur. Keep going! It's just one foot after another. I wish I took my jeans off. No, then people would notice your messing junk in your underwear. It's so hot, I didn't think it would be this hot. 

I remember skating around with Nadia earlier and try to decide if it was hotter then or now but I can't focus on that. My legs are turning to lend, my lungs burn, and I've lost all control over my breathing. Two hours and 20 minutes later Nadia is back in the room, The power level is at 32%, The Shop is still empty, and I keep running. She hasn't told me to stop, the powers still out which means if I stop now the shield will continue to drain power. Keep going, just a little more. Just one more push. One foot after the other, again, again, again, until she it's all clear. Count Them! Count your steps, 1. 2. 3. 4. That's it, make it to 10. Now 20! 11. 12. 13. 14. 

One by one everything comes by online. The power level once at 28% is now slowly climbing back up. Nadia is telling me something but all I herd was the word “stop”. Don't just stop cold turkey, your legs have to cool down. Come on you know this. I know you just wanna drop but keep going. I force myself into a cool down pace. Nadia’s trying to get me to hold something. I look down, it's a bottle of water! I open it and take slow small sips even though I want nothing more that to gulp it down but I know my body will thank me later.

It's a few minutes before I can step down off the treadmill and ease myself down on the floor. I stretch my legs out while they're still loose. Nadia is sitting across from me smiling. “You did it! You kept everything powered up even though it took longer than expected!” She said in surprise.

“To be honest, I didn't know how long it was going to take in the first place and I tried to plan for that.” I try to say it in a pleasant way but I'm not sure if it came out that way in my tired state. “but that was more than twice the length of time I have ever ran and this heat is stifling”

My vision is fading so I focus on the open water in my hand. “Why is it so hot here?” 

Nadia stands up and says something probably, answering my question but I no longer hear her. Everything feels thick and muggy as the room rotates while fading to black.


	5. The Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Airen wakes up in a cave and things get even more confusing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In desperate need of an editor! Most have a way with words and a clear understanding of grammar. I can't pay yet but I can give you a part in the book!!

Cold water hits me on the side of my face. I jerk upward gasping. The water streams down my face into my mouth and it tastes salty. I brush my blue hair back from sticking to my face and look around. The sound of water can be heard all around me. Dripping softly into puddles around my feet. _Why am I barefoot? Where is my binder! Sweet Neptune, I have pecs! Oh yeah, I already knew that. Wait a minute, why am I in my underwear!_ I look down. _Oh, my gods, I Have a Dick!_ I open the front of my boxer briefs, and sure enough, there it is. A dark brown limp cut sausage nestled comfortably in with my balls. _Ooo I have balls too. Sweeet!_ Water splashes down on the top of my head and now into my wide open underwear. “Holy snaps that's cold!” I yelled as I let go of the brim of my underwear and they snap against me.

I search around the hard stone surface below me but find nothing. Standing up I can see I'm in a large cave lit by openings at the top. At the bottom of those openings are large craters were water collects. Winding between the sparkling blue water is a path that leads off into a wall of darkness if it wasn't for the floating lanterns every twenty feet or so. _Oh, I'm dreaming. I'm in my underwear, my boobs are gone, I have a dick, and there are floating lanterns. Dreaming._

The sound of rushing water causes me to look up just in time to get drenched face first, again. The water pools around my toes before draining down through a crack in the rock. I quickly step up and over the lip of the crater and on to the smooth polished stone path. It's covered with swirling colorful designs that seem to flow in the direction ahead of me. As I walk the path the sound of my wet feet echoes off the walls of the cave. Only muffled by the sound of falling water splashing into its own crater every so often. The lanterns are square with a pointed roof keeping the water from extinguishing the light. One each one a single symbol carved on its side but it's one of the same five that's been repeating since I started down this path. One looks like a spider's web inside of the ring, the next looked like a feather with squiggles on each side in the center of its own ring. There was a crescent moon and a sun separated by a slim line in the shape of a squashed ‘S’. The following symbol consisted of a small circle inside a triangle, within a larger upside down triangle. The last symbol appeared to be square columns of various sizes grouped together. These two were in their own rings. I continued along as the lanterns bobbed slowly up and down causing shadows cast by their reddish light to move in an uncomfortable way. I change my pace to a jog and I round a corner. On the other side, the lanterns were replaced with statues 50 feet in height of a large horned, four armed, figure with hoofed feet and glowing hair. _Woah these are huge!_

They tower over me with their marbled surfaces reflecting the glow of the lanterns as I walked past. One of the statues sits on a stone pillar cross-legged, knee up with his arm draped over it, relaxed. The other arm is resting in his lap, palm up, cradling a rotating globe with its own revolving moon. I walk a few paces forward and the statue on the left is the figure kneeling on the ground hand outstretched gently touching a small flower sprouting from the ground. The expression on its face is that of love like I've never seen before. The one on the right has the figure standing one foot in front of the other, arms raised, and leaping from its open palms is a baby dragon? Looks reptilian. It's wings look to small for its body but there are all types of dragons I suppose. Its six legs bob up in down in its perpetual flight. _Ok, this place is weird. Why would I dream of this? Probably because you're on an alien planet. Ah, yeah, that'll do it._

I stop before two large staircases carved out of cave itself and at the top, a grand entrance to a temple. At the base of each staircase sat smaller statues, maybe ten feet in height. As I start up the left side, these two statues were of different figures. One appeared female in her early 30’s maybe. Her sleek hair, styled into a side ponytail, with a sweeping fringe. She had a very fine build and her arms rested on a large hammer half her size. The statue opposite her by the other staircase was male. He looked like he would be fresh out of high school, complete with a laid back carefree smile. His arms were outstretched in front of him with a scroll in each hand. The parchment of each flowed from his hands to lay pooled at his feet. At the top, the next pair of statues are of a female in her early 20’s. The most noticeable thing about this statue is the large snake curled around her form, head resting in her open palm. The one across from her was an older woman shorter than the others by a head. She had her fingers together in the shape of a triangle over her heart. She bore a stern yet motherly look upon her face. Beyond them is a grand entrance made of stone pillars supporting arches. Each arch looked like tree roots intertwined and wrapped around each pillar. The top of the arches looked like the tops of trees carved out of stone supporting the roof of the structure.  
As I walk down the many corridors line with artwork and statuses I begin to hear voices. As I enter into a large circular room roughly 100 meters in diameter, the voices stop as they quickly stand up. There are two others here but I've never seen them before. _Oh great. Strangers. Come on you can do it just relax and be yourself. Ha. If I do that, I would just keep to myself and observe. Well, you got to do something they are looking at you._

  
_Is it rude to look at their horns? Idk, it might be, don't look. Eye contact only._ “Hi. I’m Airen” I clear my throat as I walk up to them eyes bouncing from face to face. Both are taller than I. One was a very light shade of pink with short horns like a faun and long elf-like ears. He had a mark on his forehead, three circles connected by a continuous line through them. He is roughly 6’1 with a thick tan sweater and black sweatpants. The other had horns of an Ox and was about 6’7, shirtless, wearing... _Holy shit how did I not realize he was naked._

He stood arms folded behind his back. His large chest was muscular, smooth and curvy. The muscles there, built up the way they were, gave the visual appeal of a bubble chest vs a sharp chiseled one. At a quick glance, he had a large flaccid member hanging between his legs. _Eyes up, champ. He has a really nice chest. Focus, man and that's gay dear. No, I'm just saying it's a nice chest. I wonder if I could get mine like that. It probably won't turn out like that because...well you know…sigh… yea._

  
I stuck my hand out to shake in between them and the Ox just looked down at me with his eyes and asked “What manner of lower life form are you?” while the pink one just looked confused as he eyed it so I pulled my hand back. _Ugh, I fucking hate this. They probably think I’m weird. Why do you care what they think? This dude just called you a lower life form! That's weird as fuck. Besides, you're freaking awesome. The Universe created you and the universe is awesome, so you are too by default lol. But yes this suuuccks._

  
I turn around and take in the room around me. The far back wall are five black throne-like chairs with the one in the center is by far the largest almost comically so if I wasn't worried if something actually sat there. The floor is smooth and polished. The flowing light ebbs and flows towards the center of the room spiraling. On the surrounding walls are columns decreasing in height the closer they got to the entrance. Each one has a glowing ball of yellow fire atop it, bobbing freely but never straying too far from its column.

  
“Hey guys, this place is weird or what! Oh? Hey, Airen” Nadia's voice echoes off the walls. I spin around to face the entrance in time to see Nadia walking over to me... Naked.

  
_Oh, sweet mother of pearl!_ Her hair is flowing freely as she walks, and her breasts have a slight bounce to them with each step. Her skin has a soft sheen reflecting the light off her toned stomach. _That V-cut is going to be the death of me. I just know it. Woah, she has a dick too. I wonder what it would be like to polish her….ay, woah now. What the fuck, that is the incorrect train of thought. We are not going down that road. She's is my friend and we are going to be friendly and not ogle her. But seriously does everyone have dicks here, like is that a normal thing?_

  
I say “Hey” as I return her high five. “Why are you naked?”

  
“Seeing as how they are a Husk, they probably can't afford clothes,” said the taller of two guys, Ox, in a deep gravelly voice before she could answer. At the mention of the word “Husk”, the pink one flinched then looked down at the floor and Nadia's smile slowly fell off her face as she turned to face him.

  
“First, ‘She’ not ‘They’. Sec-”

  
“Archers do not care about what low-” The red one with horns of an Ox started to interrupt again.

  
“Don't interrupt, I chose to be naked tonight. I am free to live how I want. You may be an Archer but you are a Fletching bound to serve. That's why you're naked now, isn't?” Nadia says in a dangerous calm.  
“The House of Havloc has many Fletching to serve but I am their Champion. To gaze upon the body of a Champion is prized to most and to partake of it even more so. We are the pride of our houses made flesh.” He said with a growl that rumbled deep in his chest.

  
The pink one looked up and stepped back, clenching his fists. His voice an unsteady calm “Havloc? As in the creators the Havloc Air Cannon?”

  
The Ox turned his head and looked down at the pink one. “Yes, the house of Havloc has designed many great weapons and that is one of them.”

  
Before anyone could reply the golden light of the flames around the room faded the returned red. Drowning the room in a stomach-churning light. Even the light flowing under the floor into the room was a dark shade of red.

  
“What's going on?” asked Nadia moments before a sound vibrated the space around us. She quickly slaps her hands over her ears. The sound is so deep, like that of a Warhorn. This was different from the one back at Nadia’s though. No this is much older like it existed long before time itself. It demanded to be heard, felt, in mind and body. Then it was gone. I reopened my eyes and before me was a kaleidoscope of colors in the center of the room. Rotating in every direction. Gray horns emerge from the rotating disc, followed by a white skull minus the jaw with glowing red eyes. Atop the skull was fiery red hair or maybe red flames, it's hard to tell against the surrounding red. The sound repeats and I try to keep my eyes open, to watch what's happening before me but it's even louder. Like a door has been open and the sound can get in freely. My bones vibrate and the air is squeezed out of my lungs more and more with each passing wave. When the sound fades I realize I'm on my knees and I'm not even sure when I fell to the ground. The sharp pain in my knees says within the last few seconds. I look to my left and Nadia is on the ground too, head tucked into her arms. Ox is on one knee with his hands over his ears. The Faun looks like he toppled backward onto his butt. Both of his hands covering his ears as well. I look up as much as I can from my position. The ground trembles as a hoof stepped out of the rings of light and lands on the ground followed by another. Above the hoof, a long red cloth sat draped around the hips held in place by a white belt. Above that, I found myself staring into the vastness of space itself. The more I looked the more was revealed. Suns dying, being reborn, planets forming and being destroyed. Then he spoke and it was as if I was pulled from a trance. He had four arms. Two were pressed together him front of him as if in prayer the others moved as if they were grabbing things unseen and weighing them before one into a fist and the other lifted open palm into the air and then one or the other would grab something else then repeat.

  
_**I am the one that watches.**_

  
His voice is different than the sound that announced his arrival but is just as old.

  
_**Since the beginning of this planet's creation, I have watched my beloved creatures crawl, walk, talk, and thrive beyond their wildest imaginations.**_

  
It's gentle and soft like a wind chime on a gentle breeze.

  
_**Bound by Balance, I could only watch as my creatures divided, fought, suffered and even strike the very heart of my creation.**_

  
When he speaks his lips don't move but his voice is everywhere. All around me, in my mind, my heart, I can feel it flow through my body.

  
_**Now it is dying.**_

  
Pain flashed through me and my skin prickling with the aftertaste.

  
_**From the chaos, Balance has chosen four, Weaver, Builder, Whisperer, and Traveler.**_

  
At the mention of each of the four, the corresponding symbol above each throne burned white against the red.

  
_**You must work as one, learn to control your abilities, and pass the “Test of Time” to prove your worth before it's last breath.**_

 

_**Only then will you find what you seek and the key to salvation.** _

  
The disc vanishes and there's nothing but the various shades of red that allows us to see as he turns and walks to the larger throne. The ground shaking with each step. He turns back around and sits, two arms resting in his lap as if to cradle something and the other two on the armrests. He looks down at us.

  
_**I have bound your minds to this place.**_

  
_**It is all I can do to assist, bound by Balance, the rest is up to you.**_

  
The noise from his entrance split the silence at the end of his sentence and I squeezed my eye shut waiting for it to pass. I opened them again and in his place sat a Red marble statue in the same pose.

  
I sit back Indian style and look around the room then back at the statue. “So, that really happened right? Like, a dude just stepped out of the void preceded by the horn of Gabriel or some shit. Then gave us a quest to save the world, your world in particular?” I say looking at the other faces cycling through their own emotions. They varied from confused, shock, fear, and wonder as I sit there waiting for everyone to get a grip on what just happened. Nadia is the first to speak up asking “Did he say we had to master our powers?”

  
“Yea more or less. He said, and I quote; You must work as one, learn to control your abilities, and pass the test of time to prove your worth before it's last breath. I’m Windwisher by the way.” The pink one states looking at us.

  
“Work with a Husk and a Snub? I don’t think so, I have my own goals and they don’t involve hanging out with lowlifes because of a fever dream. Now I’m going to go look for a way out of here, feel free to sit around and jerk each other off” The tall one says as he walks out of the room the way we all came in.

  
“Oook. So Ox is a dick, I wasn't included in the list.” I say trying to lighten the mood. The pink alien just turned opposite the doorway and walked over to the statue. He stood there looking up at it with a mix of awe and disbelief.  
Nadia sits cross Legged beside me. “Where are we? At first, I thought this was just a dream but it all seems...feels so real.” She says as she drags her fingers over the smooth surface of the floor then punches me in the arm.

  
“Ay! Why’d you punch me?” I ask laughing. _Wow, you’re so touch starved that any form of contact makes you bubbly on the inside. No, I just feel like I could be friends with her and horsing around usually builds solid friendships...more or less._

  
“To help see if this is real, duh!” she chuckled back.

  
“ I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works. You're supposed to pinch yourself”

  
“Why would I hurt myself? She asks laughing “besides I've been in my fair share of fights so I would know what it feels like to punch someone”.

  
“Well, I haven't since I was a kid. I try to avoid fighting if I can. As for this place, I don't know, but I think this might be a real place or at least a replica of one. There are statues and sculptures of The One Who Watches on the way here and it ties into what he said.”

  
Windwisher speaks up from across the room. “It is a replica of a real place. This is the Makers Circle in the Temple of Caphiarux. I've read about it in the Great Library”

  
“Temple of Caphiarux? Wait, what do you mean you read in the Great Library? No one knows where it is, besides, no one can just enter the Great Library and only Librarians can even read the old texts” Nadia says and Windwisher looks down at the floor before quickly looking back at the statue.

  
Nadia looks at me and I shrug clueless before Windwisher continues.

  
“I believe the being that we saw was, in fact, Caphiarux himself, or at least something similar to a projection of him.”

  
I pipe up “Projection, what makes you think that?”

  
He takes a moment before speaking up again “He mentioned linking our minds to this place and we arrived here in what we fell asleep in. So this must be a dreamscape.” He closes his eyes and slowly the space around his started to change. The walls fade away and tall trees take their place. Up high above us a canopy of leaves and branches so thick sunlight barely reaches the bottom. The songs of creatures unknown fill the silence. The underbrush is just as thick with large strange flowers the size of elephants. The yellow-orange rays of light contrast nicely with the purple bioluminescent of the foliage around us. In a matter of minutes, the cold stone of the temple is replaced with the warmth of a thriving jungle. Windwisher opens his eyes again but they turn sad and his smile doesn't quite reach.

  
“Wicked! I wanna try!” I close my eyes and try to focus on the mental image of being on an island overlooking the ocean but when I open them again all I managed was a small pond to the left of Nadia.

  
She reaches down to glide her fingers through the water. “Cool! You did it!”

  
“I was trying to recreate an ocean, a really large body of water, from back home,” I say a little embarrassed.

  
“Oh. Well, maybe you just have to start off smaller” she closes her eyes. Then a medium sized clearing opens up around us and the sun lights it from above.

  
“Ooooh, ok. Let's see” I close my eyes again and three Fallen birch trees appear, one behind each of us. “There now we have a place to sit!”

  
Once seated Windwisher continues “I've always been able to do this. Creating places on a large scale like this, after training this has now become second nature”

  
“Huh. Well we know Airen is a Traveler, and since there isn't any talking or whispering involved you must be the Weaver or Builder“

  
Wisher thinks for a bit. Then says “I think I'm the Weaver. I bend and weave the rays of light to create a visual image. Also, I believe Ox as you call him might be the Builder if he serves the House of Havloc”

  
“But I don't have powers. We know you're a Traveler but I'm just a regular girl from Nujema.” Nadia states with slight confusion in her voice. “I mean, I would know if I had powers right?”

  
“Well, I did just find out I’m a so-called Traveler. A being that can supposedly teleport any distance at will. Who knows, you probably have some really cool power too.” I say confidently.

  
“That involves whispering?” Nadia narrows her eyes at me.

  
“What, I don't know?” I say laughing!

  
“Maybe you can talk to plants?” Wisher says over our laughter. “The last Whisperer could.”

  
“Well Dewforest doesn't have many plants left but I can try and see when we get out of here,” Nadia says thoughtfully. “How do we get out of here?”

  
I pipe up “My guess would be to go to sleep if we had to sleep to get here.”

  
“Makes sense. Hey Wisher, your in control of this place, is there anything in this jungle that will hurt us if we sleep out in the open tonight?” Nadia asks and Wisher shakes his head no. “Awesome!” Nadia closes her eyes and four hammocks made of a weird colorful cloth appear connected to eight trees a few feet off the ground.

  
“Hey! We have these on my planet too! We called them hammocks!” I quickly scramble into mine and lay on my back smiling swinging side to side. I pop my head up in time to see the others doing the same, although Nadia did so gracefully. The fire fades out and I say “Goodnight, see you guys tomorrow” The others repeat it back as I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
> Check out my socials to see the artwork I have created so far for the story:  
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	6. Nose Dive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Airen learns to fly...well hover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me this far.

I slowly opened my eyes and I see metal beams above me.  _ What the … where am I? _ I sit up and look around. It's no longer night as sunlight shines in through the large windows downstairs. It's not sweltering either as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. I hear music playing and a delicious smell is in the air. I stand up and the slight breeze reminds me I'm in my underwear. I slide my right hand over the plane's of my chest. With my boobs gone I can feel the muscles there. The way the muscles curve to connect under my Deltoids.  _ This awesome! I have to be dreaming.  _ My hand travels down over my abs to reach the waistband of my underwear. I take a quick peak and sure enough I still have my junk mail. My stomach growls ending any further exploration and I head down stairs. Halfway down the steps I stop. Nadia is in the kitchen dancing along to music in her underwear while pushing something brown around in a skillet.

 

_ Crap should I clear my throat and let her know I'm here. No she might get embarrassed and that will make it awkward. Maybe I should just wait here till she's done or in between songs. Or I could just go back upstairs. No! You're hungry. Just go down there and say good morning like a normal person. But you have to say it clearly or you'll look lame. Ok. Ok, I can do this. _

 

I finish going down the steps and make my way over to the couch to sit on the edge. I still haven't showered yet but I hope I can soon. Nadia's hips and sway and her purple hair follows as she bobs her head. She's wearing another sports bra but this one is orange with brown trim along the bottom edge, were as the last one was all black. As her hair moves I can kind of make out the markings on her back as they wrap around to a central point. Her panties match the coloration of the sports bra, orange with a brown waistband. As she moves around I can see that she has really nice runners legs but before I get distracted I mentally steal my self. “Good Morning!” I say casually as the music fades out. Which conveniently allows my voice to be heard. 

 

She spins around “Hey! You're up, how did you sleep?”

 

“Good, I had a weird dream though. I was in a cave, in my underwear” I say looking down at myself. Like I am now as a matter of fact.

 

“Really? Me too! Well, except I was naked. You were there and a very rude Archer. As well as a Librarian, I think? I don't know,  he seemed to know more than he's willing to tell us.”

 

“Yea! His name was Windwisher and the rude Archer's name was...huh? I don't know, I just call him Ox because his horns look like the ones an Ox has on my planet.”

 

“Exactly! I guess we really are connected together through that dreamscape. Neat!”

 

“What happened last night. After you got back, I mean”

 

“You passed out due to the heat. I didn't think anything of it because i’m use to it, but it's hotter here in Dewforest at night. There's very little wind and the Mouth of Sith isn't that far away.”

 

“Mouth of Sith?” I asked puzzled.

 

Nadia slides the food from the pan onto a plate before continuing. “Yea. It's a large pit of lava that bellows heat into the surrounding area. During the day the wind will blow the heat this way or that but at night the heat spreads everywhere.”

 

“Ah, ok. That makes sense. I'm guessing you stripped me down to my undies then dumped me in the bunk bed or did I strip in my sleep?”

 

“Nope, that was me. I stripped you down so you could cool off while the air conditioning kicked back on. Once it came on a started to work I put the blanket over you. Then went to bed myself.”

 

“If it wasn't hot why were you naked?”

 

“I sleep naked bundled up in a bunch of blankets” She says with a shrug and hands me a plate. “Gumgi Root, a hearty vegetable that thrives in heat. The seeds are hard to come by but mom has some connections and grows them secretly at her place. I swing by to raid her fridge and say “Hi” fairly often or she'll start to worry and that's not good for anyone.”

 

“I get that, my mom is the same way which makes me wonder how things are going back home. Is she worried? Has time paused like in Narnia? I don't know but I hope for the later since I have no idea how to control my powers and get back home.” I say saddened by the realization.

 

“I'm sure we'll figure something out don't worry! Today,  I'm going to teach you how to ride a hoverboard!”

 

“Nice, I can't wait!” I take a bite out of my plate of Gumg Root and chewed slowly, it tasted a lot like a very dry potato with a deep earthy flavor even though I can tell it was seasoned. Overall wasn't bad, smells amazing, but I definitely don't want to eat this every day. “This is...pleasant!” I say after a few more bites.

 

Nadia laughs “At least it doesn't taste bad. I’m not really a cook but mom showed me the basics.”

 

“Is this a breakfast meal that you eat everyday?” I ask scooping the last of it into my mouth.

 

“Oh Sith no, it's a last resort meant to be rationed till the next supply shipment. Which is a couple days from now”

 

“Supply Shipments? 

 

“Yea, Incor sends food and supplies to each city every month by Htrack.” Nadia said after swallowing the last of what was on her plate. She checks her watch then puts the dishes in the dishwasher. “I know you're probably dying to take a shower but it has to be quick. I let you sleep in but it's almost mid day, and we can't legally use water after that. You have roughly 15 mins of water left. Follow me.”

 

Nadia leads me down a short hallway and pushes me into the bathroom. “Its touchscreen so just tap to turn it on and set to the desired temp! I’ll go pick out a board for you and will be out back, come find me when your finished.”  

 

10 minutes later I step out of the shower and look in the mirror, I'm by no means jacked but my muscles are defined. My V-cut isn't as pronounced as Nadia's but I have one again. It's like im in my old high school body but more masculine and I love it. My mind trails off thinking about Nadia. I smile and reach for the door handle then remember I'm naked. I crack the door open and look around. On the floor is a pile of clothes. I scoop them up and close the door to change.

 

I made it outside in my new change of clothes and find Nadia out back. She then spends 30 minutes teaching me the basics on Airboarding a couple feet off the ground. Lean forward to go faster, lean back to slow down, and the fancy footwork for everything in between. The following 30 minutes consisted of me nose diving repeatedly into the ground. Sooner than I, and probably Nadia, expected I was able to stay level while navigating up and around Nadia's place. It felt amazing to be this high off the ground.

 

We spent the next couple hours playing tag and racing each other. We touch down on the front lawn and Nadia went in to grab us some bottled water. The door had just shut when the ground began to tremble. It didn't last long and after a quick look around no one seems phased by it, I relaxed a little.

 

"Hey, I'm back. Here you go!" Nadia said tossing me a water and sitting across from me.

 

"What was that tremble about, does it happen often?”

 

“More or less, it happens often enough to not be worried about it though. Now those clouds are worrisome ” She said pointing out into the distance.

 

The clouds she was pointing at, very tall, large, and angry looking. But their most striking feature was their color, Red.  

 

"What are those?" 

 

"Simoom clouds created by the sands of the Barren Wastes. They are more common out there among the ruins of the old world. " she finishes off her water before continuing.

 

"The fact that they are this close is unusual. There was a really bad Sandstorm 30 years ago. The country lost a lot of people, crops, and homes. After that every build is equipped with shielding strong enough to withstand the powerful sand blasting winds. If another storm storm is coming we should probably head to my mom's place, she has more food" Nadia says as she stands to collect the boards she brought outside.

 

I finish my water and help out. I hadn't realized she had brought out so many while trying to find one that fit me best. My new board is on the longer size, thin, purple, and light because it was meant for Windsurfing. 

 

"Ready?" Nadia asks while hoping on her sleek black board. She said it was made fast speeds and sharp turns.

 

"Yea, lead the way" I reply carefully stepping onto mine. Getting on is still a bit shaky but once I'm on my board I quickly regain control over it.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

“Mom, I’m back!” Nadia said closing the door behind us and placing our boards next to it. “Oh and I brought a friend”

 

To the right of us is a dining room with a medium length table that could sit six people. Behind it on the back wall was a tall display case showing various horned figurines, cups, plates, and candle holders. The front door opened up into a small entryway that had a closed door off to the left before reaching the spacious living room. The back of the couch was facing us and a large screen sat on a stand  in the left corner of the room. In the middle on the farthest wall looked like a fireplace complete with a mantel with which an elegant painting of blobs arranged around a stage, looking at more splotches playing strange instruments. 

 

I followed Nadia into the kitchen where she proceeded to open the fridge. A quick look around and the kitchen had the usual appliances Stove, Microwave, Dishwasher but off at the back was a glass circular table with four chairs around it. The table looked as if it the whole structure was molded from a singular piece of glass. A couple of monitors sat on top of the back of them facing us. In the center of the room sat a long island with some type of stone surface. The swirling pattern seemed really familiar but I can't place where I've seen it before. 

 

“Hello?” A short woman about 5 '3 just entered through the door to the left of the glass table leading out to the backyard. She wore a green bandanna tucked behind her horns that curved around her head like Nadia's, black square framed glasses, white long sleeved shirt, Black basketball shorts, brown gloves and looked a tad bit disheveled. 

 

“Hi Manem!” Nadia said through a mouthful of sandwich standing at the island. “This is my friend Airen”

 

“Nice to meet you Airen, I'm Gineta” She said taking off the gloves smiling warmly. “Welcome to my humble abode!” She opened the blinds behind the glass table causing even more light to flood into the kitchen before walking past me to hug Nadia's middle. The light reflecting off the surface of the table caused Mrs. Zaldivar's maroon skin to twinkle.  _ Odd. _ “Nadia, make sure you clean up your mess, I'm expecting company tomorrow and I want this place to be perfect. Sandwich crumbs on the counter doesn't count”

 

While they chatted and my eyes adjusted to the light, Mrs. Zaldivar had made her way around the kitchen tidying this and that while continuing to fuss over Nadia. Her back was to me for a quick second and I thought I could see the faded shape of  wings nestled against her back but when I try to focus on them they disappear. 

 

“Ah, I wonder why this place looked like you were about to put it up for sale. Who's coming over?” Nadia said taking another bite. 

 

“A friend of mine from work” Mrs. Zaldivar said absentmindedly.

 

Nadia had a shit eating grin on her face as she cleans up her mess. “ Is this a friend or a FRIIIEND?” her mom looked up confused for a second until she saw her daughters face. “I don't know, is Airen a friend or a FRIIEND?”

 

Nadia studied me, quickly looking me over from head to toe,  then back at her mom “He's ah... just a friend”

 

Mrs. Zaldivar studied me and smiled before shooing Nadia out of the kitchen “Right. She's just a friend too”

 

“Sheeeee! “Nadia said excitedly “So your friend is an girl, ok, I see you Manem” Nadia chuckles before allowing herself to be shuffled into the living room and plopped down on the couch. I followed and sat at the bar that divided the kitchen from the room we are in. The bar stool is tall enough for my feet to dangle and I resist the urge to swing them.  _ Come on man, just a few swings. How often do your feet not touch the ground when sitting in a chair. Hmm true but I will not look like a child gleefully swinging my legs because i'm up high. But you love to be up high! Come on! No! _

 

I idly swing my legs as Mrs. Zaldivar asks with a small chuckle “So what brings you by? Htrack isnt due for a couple more days so it can't be that”

 

“What! I can't just visit my dear old Manem and see how's she doing?” Nadia said forging disbelief.

 

“Sure, but you were just here yesterday” Mrs. Zaldivar laughed exposing her sharp pointy teeth. It may have been a trick of the light but for an instant while she laughed I thought I could see something on her arms.  _ Feathers? _

 

“Ok true, you got me” Nadia chuckled. “I just wanted to tell you something and see what you think about it from an outside point of view. Also, there are Simoom clouds approaching on my side of town and I know how you worry.”

 

“Sure, what is it? You’re not in trouble with the law are you?”

 

“What! No, why is that always your first go to Manem?” Nadia asks with a grin.

 

“Because you’re reckless child, I know your heart is always in the right place but you often forget about the big picture and how your actions affect others” Mrs. Zaldivar states matter factly while patting her daughter's hand.

 

“I know, I know, that's why I’ve come to you with this” Nadia takes a deep breath and begins to retell the events since she last left her house yesterday. Slow her mom’s smile begins to fade. A few times she looks over at me studying me and I try to act normal and not shift under her gaze when she does. 20 minutes later Nadia wraps up the story. She quickly rushes off mentioning something about using the bathroom when her mom reaches over and grabs my arm. She quickly stands in front of me and stares into my eyes. 

 

I press myself as far back in my seat as I can due to her sudden movement. I can see the fear in her eyes when she asks “Can you see me child?”  _ Um, that’s a weird question. “ _ Yes” I say puzzled wishing Nadia would hurry back. “No! Can you really see me? What I am and what I can be?”

 

I sit there stunned into silence as I think back on to glimpse of wings and feathers “Yes, I say more confidently” Nadia’s mom starts to pale as she closes her eyes. “Your a angel right? Or maybe part bird of some kind?” She reopens them and looks slightly puzzle so I explain about the shimmering wings and feathers on her arms. She exhales and a small smile forms on her face before she sets back down. She nervously twists the ring on her hand but her smile remains. “I guess I have no choice but to tell Nadia the truth now”

 

“Tell me what truth?” Nadia ask before gracefully climbing over the side of the couch back into her comfortable position. 

 

Mrs. Zaldiver clears her throat before sitting up tall in her seat on the couch “I am a shapeshifter, and so are you.”

 

“What? You’re joking” Nadia says looking from her mom to me and back as if expecting one of us to laugh and say just kidding.

 

“I work in the city as a Zoologist, all shapeshifters do by law. I wanted you to have a choice, not to be stuck to a certain job just because you were born with a gift.”

 

“I would have shifted by accident at least once in the last 28 years if that was true. Also, I’ve never seen your shift once either!” Nadia says standing.

 

“Actually, you have seen me in my shifted form! You just didn’t know it was me.” Nadia mom paused. “Do you remember Mr. Birdy? The black bird bigger than the others. He would sometimes accompany you to and from school when you were knee high? You would always tell me that you could talk to birds because Mr. Birdy seemed to understand you when you talked to him…”

 

“Oh dear Sith, I told him so much” Nadia says her head in her hands.

 

“Hey. Hey, it’s ok honey” Mrs. Zaldivar hugged her daughter. If you didn’t tell Mr. Birdy, I wouldn’t have known what you were going through. You had hidden your feelings so well.  Since you did, we were able to get you started on hormones before puberty kicked in and allow you to tell us when you were ready.”

 

“True. So it was you when Mr. Birdy dive bombed those kids after school for tripping me and stealing my backpack. I remember walking around the corner and there he or you were just sitting on it as if waiting for me to find it.”

 

“Yeah” She chuckled “That was me and served them right”

 

"If you ever do decide you want to shift, your first shift will be painful. It would normally happen during your growing pains stage of development but since I repressed them for so long it will be especially painful. You're bones will snap and crumble to fit that of your soul animal in it's baby form. I don't know how long it will take for your animals to age up to match your physical one but I do know the longer you stay in that form the more it will grow." Mrs. Zaldivar finishes by taking Nadia's hand and saying " I'm so sorry for the pain you will go through if you so choose that path. I just wanted you to have a future you could choose for yourself"

 

Nadia looks down at her hand in her mom's and swallows before speaking. "I understand and it's ok. I am able to choose now and this is the path I want to take."

 

Mrs. Zaldivar hugs Nadia with tears running down her face. Whether they are from joy, sadness, fear, or a mix of all of the above I'm not sure but they let go of each other after a while. 

 

"So how do I do it?" Nadia says failing to completely remove the fear from her voice.

 

"You clear your mind and listen. Soon you will hear the song of your animal, memorize it and sing along. You will be able to communicate with the species of your soul animal. Which can come in handy if you're ever in trouble or if you just want company I suppose"

 

"Ok seems simple enough." Nadia eases back into the couch getting comfortable.

 

"Wait!" Mrs. Zaldivar grabs her hand. " A child's first shift is a very personal and intimate moment between the parents and the child as they help them through it." Mrs. Zaldivar look's to me. "I don't mean to offend as you are a friend and guest but I hope you don't mind"

 

"It's ok, really I understand. Plus you gave me something to think about in regards to controlling my own ability. So don't mind me at all, you guys do what you need to do." I say with a smile.

Nadia smiles at me before getting up and heading into the bedroom on the right with her mom. Once the door closes I move to sit on the edge of the couch with my feet flat on the floor and my eyes close.  _ Ok, clear your mind. Yea, everyone knows that's easier said than done. Well just try not to think of anything. How can I do that with you talking? Fair enough, silence it is. _

 

I sit here for a few minutes before my mind starts to wonder to how Nadia's doing.  _ Focus man, we gotta figure this out. You need to have some control over it or accidents will happen. I know, I know, I'm trying. _

 

**_Look into yourself, as deep as you can go. See the stars of your creation. Twinkling like candle light in the ever shifting darkness. Trust in yourself._ **

 

_ Uh. ok, yea do that. I guess. What!? What did all of that even mean and it wasn't even my voice man. Yea, I know it was weird but you body is telling you to trust it so listen. _

 

I sit there relaxing one muscle at a time staring at my toes and working my up to my shoulders. As reach my neck I try to focus inward. I visualize an elevator a normal one with four metal walls. I push the down but only taking a second to ponder about the up button for emptying my mind again and stepping into it. The floor rattle and the walls thrum and I can feel myself moving downward. The metal walls are fading, replaced with glass. At first all I can see is inky blackness. Then one shimmering light down below, as I get closer one turns into two, two to four and so on. Soon the empty space starts to resemble outer space itself, but how could this be? All of this can’t exist inside of me. The elevator slows, the twinkles ebb and sway in the darkness. Some are blue others green or pink. Some are isolated, others cluster in such great numbers they look like a colorful cloud of stars. Some flicker out while other igninit like a spark to dry wood burning brightly.

 

One in particular catches my eye, I know in my heart it belongs to me. I want to see it more closely but I have to step out of the elevator. I look down into the vastness of space and fear grips me holding my legs steady.  _ Will I fall and be doomed to drift endlessly? Will the fall wake me up, am I sleep? How deep have I gone inside my own head? What if I leave but can’t find the elevator again? _

I look up in time to see my light bob and sway as if caught in a wave as an expulsion of light erupts next to mine. I saw the wave it caused rippling towards me picking up speed and in my panicked state all I could do was quickly spam the close door and up buttons on the elevator. The doors shut right as the wave hit the outside,  shattering them and letting the most anguished scream I have ever heard pound ears. I recoiled hands shooting up to cover my ears. The jerking motion was enough to startle me awake and I realized the screaming was coming from the bedroom. I look around, the house was lit by the interior lights and there was what looked like metal plating over the windows. All in all it looked as if the house was on lock down of some kind. 

 

I really want to help ease her pain but I don’t know how. I focus inward to find all of the strength I can muster and think of Nadia and her mom. I try to send it through whatever pathway it must go for it to reach them. I know that as much as Nadia’s screams pain me, its a thousand times worse for her mom. Yet both must push through to the end. 

 

The screams died down about 30 minutes ago but I still hear them ringing in my ears. I hope everything is alright. Several mins later I hear the door as it creaks open. There Mrs. Zaldiver stands, hair plastered to her sweaty face, clothes torn as if clawed to shreds, and bleeding through on to the hardwood floor. In her arms swaddled in the bed sheets was a green bobble headed bundle roughly the size of a four month old Great Dane puppy. From what I could see sticking out of the covers, she had a head shaped like a boomerang with short dull horns sticking out of the top of head and curling back slightly.

 

I clear my throat “What is she?” I say slightly above a whisper as to not wake her. I feel like I'm forgetting but I quickly shake it to the back of my mind as Mrs. Zaldivar walks over to the front of the couch and eases down onto the floor.

 

With a mixture of fear and pide she said “A Kankun!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope, you're enjoying this ride as much as I am! We haven't even reach the tip of the iceberg so buckle up things around about to get rough.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading tho an let me know if you would like to read more with these two.


End file.
